BASKETBALL: Waynesboro's Cole Rhyne forges his own path

Lee Goodwin

Saturday

Mar 2, 2019 at 8:30 AM

WAYNESBORO — Cole Rhyne seems to always be in search of a challenge.

Whether it's making a trip to Chambersburg to seek out competition on the blacktop, shooting for long periods of time at the Waynesboro YMCA or frustrating opposing high school teams with his signature moves to the basket, Rhyne has forged his own path.

Rhyne was a linchpin for the Waynesboro varsity basketball team during the 2018-19 season. He'll be THE linchpin next season as four other starters and a sixth man graduate in May.

The Waynesboro Area Senior High School junior comes from a family of football players. Older brothers Dakota and Forrest played for the Indians. His twin brother, Xavier, affectionately known as "Havi" by Cole, also plays football, and he's a solid contributor to the track and field team in the shot put. Forrest Rhyne, a two-time All-State linebacker, plays football at Villanova University

Cole Rhyne has charted a different course. He exerts his energy on a varnished wooden rectangle much smaller than a football field. At each end of the hardwood court are cylinders. And, on any given weeknight and some weekends, he converts the court into his own playground.

"I just wanted to be different from them," Cole Rhyne said with a grin. "When I was in fourth grade, I gravitated towards basketball. My dad (Matt Rhyne) got me into it. I first started playing at a park in Chambersburg and I played for the Waynesboro Pride."

Cole Rhyne said he spent time in the basement of his home training.

"I worked on my quickness on the ladder," he said. "And some of it was playing three sports — baseball, football (with the Quincy Panthers) and basketball."

The term 'poetry in motion' is an exclusive one. Yet, it somehow fits Rhyne. He admitted that he often feels underestimated based on his size and physique. He added that his goal in that scenario is to "surprise" people. It's fairly certain that, as he continues to hone his skills during the offseason in club hoops, that he is a known quantity.

"When I was younger I thought I was a step ahead of everyone," Rhyne said earlier this week. "In middle school, I had to be quick. If I was big like my brothers, I wouldn't be quick.

"Knowing people underestimate me makes me feel kind of comfortable in a way. They don't think I can play. I know my abilities, and I'm ready to surprise them."

Having brothers who filled out much earlier than Cole Rhyne had its advantages. It made him tougher, more resilient and ready for what came next. Still, at a lean 5-foot-9, he has had to resort to his instincts and training to prove himself. As the youngest of four siblings, he really didn't have a choice.

Rhyne's game was fine-tuned enough that he earned varsity time as a freshman. He also played junior varsity. A year later, Rhyne was the starting point guard.

"(Coach Tom Hoffman) let me know that middle school basketball is different from high school varsity basketball," he said. "Coach gave me the key. I resemble coach Hoffman on the court."

Rhyne was fortunate to have a strong group of players competing with him during games, including 6-foot-4 Jay Alvarez. The two formed a formidable "inside-outside" combination and averaged almost exactly the same amount of points per game (18).

Rhyne scored a very modest 36 points his freshman season. Then, his point production exploded the next season. He scored 301 points. He surpassed that total his junior season, scoring 399 points. He is easily within range of his goal to score 1,000 career points. He needs 264 to achieve that milestone.

"Scoring one-thousand points was one of my goals. One of my main goals was to make my father proud," Rhyne added. "The points are good, but I want to win. I thought we were going to win more this season. Another goal of mine is to be an elite point guard."

Some might define Cole Rhyne based on his uncanny ability to make a three-point shot as effortless as a free throw or how he can freeze defenders and dribble unimpeded for a layup. But he harbors his love of family underneath the veneer of toughness, especially his late father.

"I think about him every minute of the day," said Rhyne, whose father died in October 2015. "I wouldn't say during games, but before the game and after the game I'd look in the stands.

"Coach Hoffman was always around when it first happened. I looked at him as a father figure. He went out of his way."

Rhyne also looked to his immediate and extended family for support and strength, including his stepfather Chris Richardson, who was a fixture in the bleachers but was unable to this season because he was an assistant coach for the Gettysburg High School varsity girls' basketball team.

Rhyne called his mother Laura "the toughest woman I know." He recalled with outward humor the times he and his brothers went head-to-head in heated competitions and "playful" confrontations.

He also is in regular contact with his grandmother (Kate Rhyne) and his late father's sister, Heather Lowman, as well as her three daughters (Taylore, Kennedy and Brooke).

Waynesboro won 17 games this time around. The Tribe's season ended in heartbreaking fashion, 55-52 at home against Cumberland Valley in the first round of the District 3-6A playoffs. This was Waynesboro's first season playing in Class 6A. The previous two seasons of the expanded classification saw the Indians compete in Class 5A.

Rhyne will play club basketball for Team PA Supernatural, based in Harrisburg. He played for the talented team last season and got some priceless exposure to elite basketball in tournaments. Last season, Rhyne was a shooting guard. He is a point guard this year. AAU basketball extends from March into early summer, when the high school teams are getting ready to compete in camps and tournaments.

"It's humbling, and it makes me work harder," said Rhyne, who is working hard on earning a college scholarship.

Contact Lee Goodwin at 717-762-2151, lgoodwin@therecordherald.com or on Twitter: @LeeG_RH

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